Martin keumm



M. KRU MM. Jr.

Iron Fence.

` Patterned', April 1 4, 1868,v

N. PETERS. Pllowhognphlr, Wuhinghm. D4 C.

AMARTIN n nUMM, Jn., or coLUMnns`on1o.

Letters Patent No. 76,637, date-:ZAPH'Z 14, 1568.

IMPBOVMENT IN CONSTRUCTION OI I BNGE-POSTS.

vtite tlgrhule mann tu in tigen tsttas Etaient mit mating not tigt stmt.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be-it known that I, MARTIN KRUMM, Jr., of Columbus, in the county ofFranklin, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Ifence-Postsi and I 'do hereby declare that the following is'a full, clear, and exact description thereof, refcrcncebeing had tothe accompanying drawings, making part of this specification,.in which-f- Iiigur'el is a perspective view ot' a fence constructed with my improved posts.

Figurev2 is a vertical sectional view ot' two fence-posts dii'ering slightly in form from those shownin iig. L

Figure 3 shows a fence-post of a U-torm, it being a modification of the posts of'gs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts in the several iigures's.

This invention isI designed to provide forthe expansion and contraction of metal fences of everystyle and description, and, at the same time, have all the parts composing` such fences rigidly secured together., -I am aware that, prior to my invention, severai'attempts have been made to construct metal fences, with provision for contraction and expansion', but t-his has been done at the-expense of strength and'rigidity, and, as far as am aware, such attempts have never been successful.

A good metal fence should have its parts rigidly secured together, the posts should -be rigidly fastened at their bases into a solid foundation, and-the horizontal rails, or the panels between the posts, should be rigidly fastened to the posts. A good metalfence should also be so constructed that whatever its length may be, the rails or horizontal rods should be allowed to extend and contract by the inuence of climatic changes uponv the fence.

To eifectthese objects in a single fence, the nature ot' Vmy invention consists in a laterally-springing post, made of bar or strapmetal, bent in such manner that, when the post is secured in place to a suitable base-piece,

its limbs maybe pressed nearer together, or drawn further apart, to an extent which will admit of an unrestrained contraction and extension of all horizontal tie rails or bars used between the post, as will be hereinafter described. l I v l I The invention also consists in. construc'ting'a fencepost of one'or morcpieces of'metal bent in such manner as to ati'ordv ornamental spring-heads, or both head and foot-pieces, so that such ornament'or'ornaments will not only serve to beautify the fence, but will also allow the iimbsot` the post to be extendedaud contracted transi versely to any desired extent, as will'be hereinafter described.

To venable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construction and operationt In the construction of my 4improved fence-posts, I prefer to employ an article known in the market as fiatbar or strap-iron, although the posts may be made of rods Aof any metal,`and of any desired sizeand shape in cross-section. Iiprefer to employ the rods or strapiron as furnished by the trade, because the only labor required to produce the posts of these rods is to cut and bend them to the required shape.4

I take a rod ofthe propei` length, and double it-by bendingl it around a horn of cylindrical form, thus pro# ducing'an` open, U-shaped post, J, as shown in iig. 3. The rounded end g of this post forms its upper end, and the open end isernbedded into a stone, or other suitable base, D, as shown. This is. the simplest form of yielding post, and may be used interposed between more ornamental posts. Another form of post may be made, possessing greater elasticity transversely, by bending ,the upper end of the post in the manner represented at A, in gs. 1 and 2,"and, if still greater elasticity is required,'the bottom ends of each post may be curyed and Abrought together, as shown at c, in figs. 1 and 2. l

It will be seen that each post shown in the drawings is made of one piece of dat metal, and that its ornamental end is made by bending the metal around suitable form-pieces, leaving the upright body-portions ofthe post straight and parallel to each other; so that these parallel portions may be extended. or contracted transversely. 4

By enlarging or flattening the end or ends of each post, it will-be -secn that they will a'ord greater springs action than is allowed bythe bars' J. which are united at their upper ends by the single bend or arch g, shown in iig. 3. At the same time, by thus terminating the end or ends ofthe post, I am enabled to produce a variety of ornamental designs, which will add greatly to the beauty of a fence composed in part of such posts.

I prefer to construct each one of my spring 4or yielding posts of one piece of metal, bent substantially as described, but, if desired, each post may be constructed of longitudinal sections riveted together.

When posts of the above-described construction are properly erected upon a solid base, D, the horizontal rails B B are secured rigidlytothem, by meansfof nuts and screws, or by riveting the ends of these rails to the posts. Pickets C, or othersuitalle filling, lmay-then be applied t'o the rails, in the usual well-known manner. The posts' being open, as shown, they will afford convenient access-tothe ends of the rails B, for screwing or riveting these ends to the post-hars. lIty willbe seen that the rails'B do not pass entirely through the posts, but terininate inside'ofl each one of the iimbs of each post, with shoulders formed near their ends, which abut against the outer sides ofthe limbs of the posts, so that when the nuts a a. are applied upon the screws which are formed on the ends of the rails, and these nuts forcibly tightened, rigid joints will be made. Thus it will beseen that the rails B are allowed perfect freedom to extend and contract by the yielding of the limbs of the'posts. u

While I prefer to adopt the U-shaped post, with or without ornamental ends, I do not confine myself to this precise form of posts, as transversely-expansible posts may be made ota variety of forms, with or without ornamental figures. I V

Having described my invention, what I claim 'as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A transversely-expansible post, having its 'vertical portions united at the top by one or more springs,

A', substantially as shown and described.

i MARTIN KRUMM, JR.

Witnesses:

C. SIEBERT, MARTIN KRUMM, Sr. 

